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Komorlo (Egret Story)

In the Dreamtime, the two Ancestral Dogs Adjumarllarl and Omwarl came to Gunbalanya from the west, looking for water. They stayed here, and started digging a well. A little bit of water came out and made a small billabong, which we now call Arrmunbu. It lies in the middle of the town of Gunbalanya. There they spoke with Komorlo (the Egret) and Manimunak (the Magpie Goose). Komorlo said she would stay on the billabong and live there. And Manimunak said she would go up to the top of Arrkuluk hill and stay there. So they made their decision. Manimunak climbed to the top of Arrkuluk, and the two dogs kept on going, past Injalak Hill. But Komorlo decided to stay back where there was a billabong. So today we see lots of egrets on the billabong today, standing and flying around and eating fish. Every wet season the rains fill up the billabong again, and we can see lots of egrets chasing small fish in the shallows, spearing them with their beaks.